Depression Board decisions

The Board granted a 70 percent rating for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and denied service connection for various other conditions, including cluster headaches, traumatic brain injury, allergic rhinitis, and others. Some claims were remanded.

The Veteran's migraine headaches are granted a 50 percent rating, while the claims for increased ratings for major depressive disorder with unspecified anxiety disorder, allergic rhinitis, lumbosacral strain, and left knee patellofemoral syndrome were denied. A separate 10 percent rating was granted from June 17, 2020, for slight left knee instability, and a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) was also denied.

The Board granted an initial disability rating of 70 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with generalized anxiety disorder, effective January 5, 2023, and denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss. The appeal was dismissed for persistent depressive disorder as it is not clearly distinguishable from the Veteran's already service-connected PTSD.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection claims related to hypertension, stroke, speech difficulty, anxiety disorder, depression, and vision difficulty.

The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, finding that the Veteran's major depressive disorder aggravates his OSA.

The Board denied service connection for depression, an anxiety disorder, bilateral hearing loss, a back disorder, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as there is no evidence of current diagnoses or symptoms reasonably associated with these conditions.

The Veteran was granted a TDIU from March 9, 2022, to February 27, 2023, due to the severity of his service-connected disabilities.

The Board granted an effective date of October 8, 1993, for the Veteran's service connected acquired psychiatric disorder.

The appeal was dismissed due to untimely filing of the Notice of Disagreement (NOD) more than a year after the relevant rating decisions were issued.

The Board remands the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include major depressive disorder, for a new VA examination and further development.

The Board granted a 50 percent rating for an acquired psychiatric disorder and denied a compensable rating for pseudofolliculitis barbae, while remanding several other claims.

The appeal regarding the proposed reduction in rating for insomnia disorder was dismissed, and service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, namely adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depression, was granted.

The Board granted an initial 70 percent rating for major depressive disorder with anxious distress and anxiety disorder, not otherwise specified.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his psychiatric, left shoulder, and left shoulder scar disabilities as the evidence did not support a higher disability rating.

The Board granted an initial 100 percent rating for the Veteran's unspecified depressive disorder and a 30 percent rating, but no higher, for bilateral plantar fasciitis from August 29, 2022.

The Board denied service connection for diabetic peripheral neuropathy, left and right lower extremities, erectile dysfunction, a rating in excess of 70 percent for depressive disorder, and secondary conditions as the evidence did not support a diagnosis or nexus to service or service-connected disability.

The Board granted service connection for major depressive disorder but denied it for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The Board remands the claims for a medical opinion to clarify whether symptoms associated with major depressive disorder are distinguishable from those attributable to narcissistic personality disorder.

The Board denied an initial rating greater than 70 percent for persistent depressive disorder and generalized anxiety, granted a 20 percent rating for cervical strain, lumbosacral strain, right lower extremity shin splints, and left lower extremity shin splints, but denied an initial rating greater than 10 percent for bilateral plantar fasciitis.

The Board remands the claim for service connection for unspecified depressive disorder to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors, including an inadequate VA examination.